Kolkata Korner

BB's Date
How dramatically and unimaginably things have changed! A Marxist ChiefMinister hosting, and falling for the charms, of not only unabashed capitalists,but that too from the hated and reviled US of A! That Marxists are opportunistsis no secret and need no elaboration, but the manner in which they changecolours would put even a chameleon to shame. Thursday saw Bengal CM BuddhadebBhattacharjee host a delegation of American capitalists (members of the US-IndiaBusiness Council), sharing tea and pastries with them and inviting them to setup base in Bengal. The US business delegation termed Bhattacharjee as Bengal's"most effective salesman" (wonder what Marx would have to say abouthis follower trying to 'sell' a state to capitalists, those class enemies) andsaid he should fly down to Washington to make his sales pitch there. And, horrorof horrors, Bhattacharjee has not only accepted the invitation, but is mostlikely to meet an acolyte of that war-mongering, imperialist George W. Bush—CondolezzaRice. Wouldn't it be fantastic if Bush drops in at the meeting, promises (Bhattacharjee)to put in a word to his friends in Halliburton and other US MNCs, and theninvites Bhattacharjee over to dinner at the White House? Imagine the two Bs(Bush and Bhattacharjee) addressing a joint press conference on the lawns of theWhite House on how Texas and Bengal have such a lot in common, and howcapitalists and communists are but 'natural allies'. That, quite succinctly,would mark the turnaround of Bengal's present-day rulers.

Smart Yanks
One must give it to the Americans—they certainly know how to neutralizeopposition to their business interests. Right now, on top of the US Inc's agendais ensuring that limits on FDI in the insurance, pension and retail sectors arehiked. They know the Congress would gladly do it, but for Opposition fromPrakash Karat & Co. So the Americans fly down to Bengal, charm the CM here,shower him and his government with accolades, and smother Bhattacharjee & Cowith even blatantly false praise. Like, for instance, that the Bengal governmenthas been so transparent in its dealings. That the Singur controversy is"part and parcel of doing business and could happen anywhere in theworld" (no, not where governments are really transparent and do things in ademocratic manner). Needless to say, Bhattacharjee was swept off his feet. Andthen the Americans presented their wish list on hiking FDI limits in insurance,pension and retail. A preening Bhattacharjee promised to make his colleagues inA.K.Gopalan Bhawan see reason. Is it, then, a matter of time before Karat &Co silently withdraw their opposition to allowing more FDIs in these threesectors, as they have done in many other crucial issues over the last threeyears? The American businessmen are counting on that, as is Bhattacharjee who'sso eager to get US investments in Bengal.

Any Apologies?
There is, however, no disputing the fact that industries and investments arerequired and, as Bhattacharjee rightly says (now), agriculture alone cannotbring about prosperity. It is only now, after decades of anti-industry andanti-capital propaganda, that the Marxists in Bengal have started gettingpragmatic and acknowledging what the rest of the country realised long ago. Theresult of all that fiery Marxist rhetoric of the past had been that capital andindustry fled Bengal, causing economic ruin that'll take a long time to repair.All this is well known and it's good news that the Marxists here have startedembracing capitalists. My point is, will Bhattacharjee and his compatriotsapologise to the people of Bengal for having brought such ruin to this state?Will they admit their mistakes and monumental follies of the past and seekforgiveness for having led the state down the path to such devastation? Willthey promise they'll jettison their archaic concepts and transform themselvesfrom wooly-headed utopians to hard-headed realists? Because, till they musterthe courage to take a hard look at their shameful past, own up to the mistakesthey made, offer proper apologies and promise never to indulge in populistrhetoric, Bengal's journey to economic rejuvenation will not be a wholesome one.The people of Bengal need to force such retrospection, admission of guilt,apologies and promises from the Marxists.

Selling Kolkata
Selling seems to be this week's flavour. At a seminar organized by Intachthe other day, experts had a number of very sensible suggestions to offer. One,that those who want to promote tourism should take a holistic view of thiscity's monuments and buildings embracing the 300-year-old cultural and socialfabric of Kolkata. Heritage should be Kolkata's USP and the whole package fortourists should comprise its architecture (Victorian and Indo-Sarasenic), visualand performing arts (the Bengal school of paintings, music, dance and films, forinstance), textiles (kantha, baluchari etc) cuisine (Bengali, Awadhi,Continental), and unique festivals (like the Durga Puja) that'll offer visitorsa complete and inimitable experience. Abha Narain Lambha, who's credited withpioneering conservation work in Mumbai, said that instead of just conservingindividual monuments and buildings, conservation efforts should be directedtowards the urban core that links such structures so that tourists enjoy aheritage experience instead of disjointed snapshots. For instance, the wholeswathe from Dalhousie Square to Victoria Memorial and the Chitpore area as wellas large parts of North Kolkata could be preserved and packaged as heritagezones. As one expert said, till a few decades ago, Kolkata offered the bestChristmas experience—an evening stroll along the riverfront, dinner at ParkStreet, midnight mass at St. Paul's Cathedral and breakfast the next day atFlury's! Such experiences can be easily recreated. Will those in charge of hardselling, or at least selling, Kolkata to tourists wake up and start working?

No Beacons
Talking of the city, one must thank the Calcutta High Court (once again) forgetting the government to act against those who illegally flaunt red beaconsatop their white ambassadors. The Court had ordered that only emergencyservices—the fire brigade, ambulance, police patrol — and police pilotvehicles in a VVIP's convoy can use red beacons. But the state government showedno signs of puncturing the inflated egos of bureaucrats and politicians whoflaunt the red beacons and use them to whiz past red traffic signals. And then,in an unrelated case, the Court came down heavily on the state administration toorder prison terms for the DGP and other senior officers for contempt of court.Apprehending similar action, the state government has now started removing thered beacons from cars. A local newspaper ran an interesting item the other dayon how none in the UK, including Prime Minister Tony Blair, use beacons on theirvehicles. That was a well-made point—if Blair doesn't need a beacon, why doesBuddhadeb need one? But only if our politicians and bureaucrats (and, perhaps,even we) were as civilized as the Brits, things would have been a lot different.

Scars Remain
While on uncivilized politicians, when the Bengal Assembly's budget sessionstarted in the middle of this week, many eyes were on the benches that rampagingTrinamool legislators had uprooted and broken on November 30 last year aftertheir chief, Mamata Banerjee, was stopped from going to Singur. Within a span ofabout 20 minutes, the 15-odd law-makers caused a damage of Rs 15 lakh. And ithas taken a battery of 60 workers labouring from dawn to dusk over three monthsto repair and restore the furniture, microphones and glass panes. The teakfurniture that they damaged and broke is more than a century old and just can'tbe replaced. When the session started with the Governor's speech on Thursday,everything appeared to be in place. But a closer look revealed the cracks in thegrand antique furniture that'll always remain as a reminder of the dark day lastNovember. And when the same band of Trinamool legislators started stagingfull-throated protests during the Governor's address, everyone kept theirfingers crossed, hoping that these unruly politicians would limit themselvesonly to verbal duels. By the way, the Speaker's decision to deduct Rs 15 lakhfrom these legislators' salaries is too mild a punishment—stricter action thatwould have served as a strong deterrent would have been in order.

Cracks In Trinamool
Mamata's men aren't, after all, a united lot. The latest in the steadyexodus of intelligent, self-respecting and popular men from her coterie isSadhan Pande. This Trinamool legislator said the other day that the Tata Motorsproject at Singur was critical to Bengal's industrial rejuvenation and would bea precursor to more investments in the state. And, he added, nothing could stopthe factory from coming up. What Pande said was the stark reality and truth, andit just doesn't matter if Mamata accepts it or not. Her sycophants in the party,however, suspended Pande from the Trinamool, thus provoking him to speak out. Itnow appears that Mamata has never discussed the Singur issue, or the largerissue of acquiring agricultural land for industries or, for that matter, anyother issue, with her party colleagues. All decisions are hers and hers alone.She's whimsical, intolerant of criticism, dictatorial and encourages sycophancy.Makes one wonder, does she have a political death wish?

A Clarification
A CPI(M) Minister I was chatting with the other day admitted to being a readerof this column (should I be flattered?). And he wondered why I indulge in ano-holds barred criticism of his and other parties, save for the BJP? My answerto him—and to others who may have similar posers—was: that retrograde partypeopled by pathetic personas doesn't deserve mention in this column. I wouldn'taccord them that honour.